Forgotten
by Torchie1
Summary: It has been one year since Spyro and Cynder had thought that they defeated Malefor and the world has returned to peace. They were were wrong, when two mysterious dragons suddenly arrive in Warfang with knowledge that he had returned. With a second war already in motion, Spyro has to find another way to defeat The Dark Master. What he doesn't know, is that secrets are being kept...
1. Prologue

**This story is rewrite of my story named "The Forgotten Past" after a few years of plot development and character development. This story is also the first bit of content I've uploaded for the last four years. I hope that this story can provide an enjoyable read for all of you reading and can live up to the many great authors on this site!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Legend of Spyro characters or places that appear in this story, however, I do own all other OCs and places that appear in this story.**

* * *

 **Prologue:**

He was alive.

That was the first thought which came to his mind as he regained consciousness and breathed in a lungful of air. The next was less of a thought but a feeling.

Exhaustion.

Fatigue ached through his entire body, poisoning his limbs and making them feel as if they made from lead. His breaths came in short, frantic gasps as he lay still, fading in and out as a primal part of him grasped for consciousness as if it was a lifeboat in the raging storm of exhaustion.

Minutes passed as he lay still, only vaguely aware of the grass he was resting on and the relaxing wind cooling his bunched muscles. The seconds felt like hours to the barely conscious dragon, time progressing languidly as he fought with everything he had left to not pass out. Minutes crept on at a pace that felt like a year to the red dragon, before the battle for awareness subsided as he felt the first dregs of strength return to his body. His breathing slowed as the world around him, along with its sounds and smells, became clearer, the haze of exhaustion lifting from his senses.

It was cool. For a long moment, his mind wandered over that simple fact, thinking of it, considering it, but not really processing it. He felt like a sloth on a warm, sunny day – a hatchling basking in the glow of a hot summer day after days of rain. He just wanted to lie down and soak in the sun's warmth without a care in the world.

He kept his eyes closed and a lazy smile come to his muzzle as he lay there. He could feel the life around him, the grass, he could breathe in the fresh, cool air. He could finally relax.

 _Cool._

The word finally processed and his mind cleared instantly. His snapped his eyes open, sending his body into full alert as he hastily climbed to his paws. The thoughts of lounging were already out of his mind as he looked in front of him. A feeling of pure awe filled him as he gazed upon the healthy green grass before him and he looked up.

Instinct told him to look around but it wasn't truly necessary. He knew where he was even before his bright fiery red eyes took in the colourful rows of flowers that sprinkled along the valley, the brilliant lush trees that were scattered around the place, forming vibrant, lively forests and the almost iconic waterfall, followed by the vast array of colossal, grey mountains. The smell of fresh grass filled his nostrils as the calm, relaxing wind passed over him.

He blinked a few times as he stared unseeingly at his surroundings, lost in nothing but his bewilderment. It was a few long moments before he regained his composure and he stared in thought at the red-scaled paws in front of him.

How did he get into the Valley of Avalar?

Last thing he remembered was the explosions and plumes of lava that reached over his head as the world exploded on itself from The Destroyer's Circle of Fire.

A shudder ran through his body as he recalled the world he was in seemingly a few minutes ago;

 _The air around him got hotter and hotter as he plummeted deeper into the planet, plumes of fire and destruction spraying around him. The red dragon flattened himself against the wide brown rock platform, wings pressed against his sides as a large plume of lava splashed. Tiny droplets of molten rock sprayed from where it collided with the rock and he hissed sharply, gritting his teeth as several of the droplets scorched his shoulder and across his back._

 _Shaking the rapidly-hardening rock fragments from his scales, he examined the state of his platform. A quick examine showed that the rather large piece of rock that had broken away from the Dragon Temple was now had a large chunk torn out of the bottom of it. As if on cue, a loud rupture cracked through the air as the platform he was standing on cracked in two. In a panic, the red dragon quickly shifted his weight onto his left and he stepped to it, a second before the right side was swept away by a tornado of fire._

Where is the temple?

 _Instinct told him to look right just as a cloud of sulphuric gas was suddenly upon him. The thick grey haze instantly entered his lungs, the black tendrils of smoke suffocating the air out of him. The red dragon coughed and hacked, his body wrenching, his eyes watering as he desperately tried to peer through the thick grey haze to the falling Dragon Temple ahead of him._

 _Still coughing violently, he crouched again to lower his centre of gravity and maintain his balance. Stray rocks and temple parts whizzed past his head, missing his golden horns by inches as the cyclone of sulphur and heat hurled everything they could get their fierce claws on. He quickly wiped his watery eyes with the back of his blackened forepaw and turned again to see the remnants of the temple be engulfed by the fiery ball of plasma at the centre of the world, disintegrating the white marble within a second._

Did they escape?

 _Trying to suppress the rising panic in his gut, his eyes scanned the place where the temple collided with the planet's core, searching for a hint of colour that wasn't white or bright fiery red. For several seconds, against his better judgement, he continued to look for a flash of purple or black scales in the array of tiny rocks but as time dragged on his heart dropped as he lay there mesmerised in deep-seeded horror, staring at the last place he saw the temple._

" _Flare!"_

 _The voice was a spark of lightning to him, jolting him out of his trance and he turned to his right. There was another dragon in a similar situation to him, blue body and golden wings pressed against their own piece of whirl winding rock a metre away from him who was looking at him, his face mirroring the distraught that the red dragon felt._

 _They shared a glance, their eyes meeting and a silent conversation passed between the two. The red dragon could see the blue lights of his brother's iris even from a metre away._

" _We have to leave!"_

 _There was an uncommon fear in the blue dragon's eyes as his brother broke eye-contact and twisted and turned his head desperately, his eyes getting wide in rising panic as he searched for an escape for them. Even as the other dragon continued to look around, the red dragon could see that the dragon's heart was not in it. They both knew that there was no escaping the world exploding. The Circle of Fire was complete. Malefor had won._

 _When a light exploded from the centre of the planet, it was then that Flare truly gave up. Fiery red eyes turned to the core of the world, as the curtain of light shone toward him. He closed his eyes as the warm glow of the end of the world engulfed them. He had accepted his fate, knowing that both himself and his brother had tried everything they had left to survive. And still failed._

His brother.

The memory faded as Flare returned to the Valley of Avalar, eyes clearing from the dreamy haze. Panic swelled inside him and his heart-rate skyrocketed as he again scanned around his immediate surroundings with heightened urgency, his eyes taking in the greens, browns and greys of Avalar but not the familiar blue scales of his brother.

Terror flooded through him as he desperately searched his memories for any inclination on how they got separated. They were right beside each other a minute or two ago before the world had gone into a blinding white and he had lost consciousness. It would make sense if he would be close by, in spite of whatever happened to the planet! He ran and took flight as the red dragon's eyes frantically searched.

There was no sign of his brother anywhere in sight, despite him widening his search to the surrounding small forests and rock crevices. After another minute passed of his unrelenting searching to no avail, his heart plunged with despair. He landed on a grassy outcrop which he had discovered gave a good vantage point of the valley, instantly collapsing onto the grass with a sigh as he allowing his head to fall until his chin made contact with the soft soil, tossing a few stray tufts of fresh grass into the air.

What was he going to do? Already a part of him felt missing without the familiar blue dragon beside him.

With a scowl, he absent-mindedly looked at the grass leaves as they came back down. He could see them as they swirled a small loop, before giving a few spins in the wind, twirling twice more and landing with their family. The thought that an inanimate object was having more success than he was caused him to let out a small scoff in irony of the situation. Closing his eyes, he took a few long breaths, inhaling deeply for a few seconds, before exhaling slowly.

As he breathed in a second time, he could feel the fresh, refreshing air stream throughout him, filling his lungs with a cool wind and clearing his mind almost instantly. It felt like a small wave of freshness that seemed to circulate through his body. He continued his breathing for a few more long moments, not opening his eyes, not moving. It was at least two minutes until he felt completely relaxed and the soothing feeling seemed to have integrated into his body.

Slowly, Flare opened his eyes and stared at the tufts of grass in front of him absently. This was not the time for panic, nor was it the time to sink into a depression and cry. Both he and he brother had a plan if they were ever split up, he just needed to follow it and hope the blue dragon would too. He was going to find his brother, even if it took him to the other side of the world. Because he _was_ alive.

He was not going to lose another brother without trying.

With a renowned aura of determination, he lifted himself from the ground and walked to the edge of the small grassy ledge. His fiery red eyes scanned the Valley of Avalar below, taking in the various plant-life and beauty for one final time. That's when he saw them; a pair of purple and black blurs in the peach Avalar skies. Spiralling. Twirling.

Smiling.

On instinct, he crouched until his underbelly was touching the ground as his eyes scanned the two creatures. The red dragon was only a few hundred metres away and they could have probably seen him if they were not too busy celebrating their victory. He could hear the laughs that echoed from the two young dragons as they zoomed and twisted in the air, their faces full of joy and bliss.

Flare's eyes widened in shock when he recognised the two dragons. _They're alive?_ he thought, his eyes narrowing in a vain attempt to identify further details.

A minute passed and a small smile came to the edges of his muzzle as he observed Spyro and Cynder chase each other and talk, his own problems temporary forgotten in their joy. They were so happy. A part of him physically yearned to join them in their victory; to smile and laugh and have fun for the first time in years. But he knew better. As much as he wanted to meet the saviours of the world, to finally know them and talk to them and just _tell him_ …

He could not ignore his other brother.

It was a long while until he decided it was his time to leave, and only then with a large amount of hesitation. With one final long look at the purple dragon and his companion, he turned and walked away. Away from the two heroes. Away from Warfang. Away from a life of celebration and happiness.

"Dear ancestors, Flare. You have more important issues to attend to," he told himself as he trudged through a vibrant forest, chiding himself for taking so long to leave.

As he continued the long walk through the forest, along the well-walked dirt path that connected the valley to the other sections of Avalar, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right. He turned his head to stare at the forest behind him and to the two heroes he had left. The dragon's brows narrowed, he did not doubt that those two were powerful dragons, but he also could not underestimate the strength and determination of Malefor. The gap between a dragon and The Dark Master was so great that he had a hard time believing that the latter could even _be_ beaten, and that is not even beginning to question how the world was still in one piece.

Flare let out a grunt in frustration as he turned in front of him and back to the path. _What ever happened in that fight must have been something extraordinary to have defeated The Master_ , he thought, a sour frown on his face. It annoyed him that he didn't know all the details on what happened. Of course he could just go back and ask the two heroes, but he didn't have the heart to ruin their victory and introduce doubt.

He did not doubt that the two heroes would not leave the job unfinished – at least to what they consider unfinished. But he couldn't shake the feeling inside his gut. Malefor was not done. If there was anything the young red dragon knew, it was that The Dark Master always had a backup plan – even if it may delay his plans to a point that most would give up. It was that sense of determination that Flare admired in the evil dragon but ultimately found it dreadful.

He stared in thought as he padded his way through the forest, his body guiding him as his eyes glazed over in thought. A few long moments passed before his mind returned to him and he focused on his immediate surroundings once again.

A great, defeated sigh escaped his maw. He was not going to get anywhere if he didn't know what happened. Which meant he had to wait for the news to spread, and he did not doubt that the defeat of Malefor would engulf all cities in the world in its glory, even to where he was heading.

And so, against his better judgement once again, he left the subject behind him and continued onward, for the second time focusing on his current issue.

It was nearly a minute of silent walking before the red dragon emerged from the forest, the bright sun peeking through the tree's leaves and temporarily blinding him, causing him to raise a wing to cover his eyes as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the new lighting from the shadowed forest. As he withdrew his wing, he was again assaulted by the vast array of colours and life in front of him as he gazed upon Avalar. He felt the smile return to his face as his mind instantly returned to The Valley behind him and the two dragons in it. A humourless chuckle escaped the red dragon's mouth as he stared at the road ahead of him, his mood lifting.

"This world truly has something out for me," he muttered aloud with a slow shake of his head, a smile clear on his face as he opened his wings, a bright flare in his eyes. "I lose one brother, and I find another."

And with that, he flapped his golden wings and took flight on his journey to the other side of the world.

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 **And that's it for chapter one, or the prologue. I hope it was at least somewhat enjoyable to read. ^^ I do want to give a big thank you to Dragonmaster000 for beta-reading this chapter and correcting all my bad grammar!**

 **I just want to give a short disclaimer. So, as I had mentioned before, this story is a rewrite of the story "The Forgotten Past" and will be the story that would be taking up the majority of my writing time. To all those that have read TFP, this rewrite is very different to the original and will be considered the canon version of the story as soon as I get back to writing the next "book' of the series. Most of the characters are the same and story would be the same, but there are a lot of things different. I hope that I had matured as an author and that, if I have, it shows. :)**

 **Also, please expect upload times to inconsistent. ^^; I have already gotten nine-tenths through the next chapter but it has taken much longer than anticipated. I do not know when that would be uploaded but expect it to be relatively soon. Sorry in advance about that.**

 **As always, all constructive criticism is appreciated and I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 1 - Dawn

**Chapter 1: Dawn**

The sun had barely begun to rise in the Warfang sky, the first glimmering rays of sunlight illuminating the sleeping, battle-worn city as the earliest of morning birds chirped their respective melodies. On top of the outer walls of the city of Warfang lay a black dragoness sitting on her haunches, her bright aquamarine eyes directed at the rising sun. The patrolling guards that were doing their rounds gave her a small salutation that she briskly returned before turning back to the sunrise.

Cynder took a deep breath of fresh morning air, savouring the way the cool, unfiltered air swept through her lungs, bringing with it a wave of relaxation through her and a small contented smile on her muzzle. The black dragoness was always an earlier riser. To her, sleep was a bore and a burden that only halted productivity that was achieved when one was conscious. For whatever reason, she never seemed to enjoy sleep nor really require a lot of it, being able to function throughout the day with only a few hours rest. This predicament brought with it many a restless night where she would lie in her bed, awake, just looking at the ceiling until her eyelids felt heavy and she would drift asleep.

There was also the second reason she awoke so early. Her smile spread as her gaze focused back at the image in front of her, the early morning rays reflecting off her brilliant aquamarine eyes as she took in the scene for the hundredth time.

There are few creatures in the world that enjoy the sun's beauty more than her. She had loved it so much that the black dragoness has gotten into the habit of returning to this very spot on the city's wall to survey the rise and fall of the giant ball of warmth for as many days as she could throughout the last year. The first few times she did this, many of her close friends thought of it as an obsession and had tried to discourage it, but she didn't allow it – they were not the ones that were trapped inside of a dark tower for the first few years of their life.

She had told them that the reason she came out every morning was simple - she enjoyed it.

The dragoness closed her eyes and took in another lungful of fresh morning air, savouring the smell of the clean forests just outside the city and she once again felt her body sag in lethargy. She sat there for a minute, eyes closed, taking in deep breaths of the air and feeling the early morning sun on her black scales. She wished she could sit here all morning without any interruptions. Alone.

The smile faded, her eyes taking on a glimmer of sadness as she her gaze gently drifted open to her paws. That wasn't true. She longed for her most trusted companion to join her on mornings like this. Unfortunately, Spyro was never a dragon to wake early enough in the morning to be able to join her for the sunrise, though the two had settled on making it a habit to watch the setting of the sun together for the last couple of days. Although, she could remember a time where he wanted to join her for the morning "watch" a month ago, but that only revealed to her that the oaf was content on making the solid stone wall his bed as much as a soft cushion.

Spyro.

A dragon with such innocent gaze and selflessness of actions that it would have made the dragoness puke if she hadn't been chained to him and been forced to tolerate it. The purple dragon had rubbed off on her in a way she had not expected and now, a year later, he was her closest friend and one of the few creatures that had believed in her ever since she abandoned her old master, Malefor. Just thinking about the young purple dragon brought emotions that the dragoness had not experienced and she felt her cheeks get slightly hotter. It was a few more seconds until she managed to calm herself down, but the memory of the dragon was still fresh on her mind and she could feel that the heat on her face had yet to fade.

The black dragoness, held up a paw to her head, a sheepish smile on her face. Ancestors above, she was glad that she had black scales, otherwise if someone caught her like this she would die from emba—

"So, what'cha thinking about?"

Cynder started, jumping an inch off the ground as she whipped her head to face the intruder, already to her feet and in a hasty battle stance. A pink dragoness stood roughly a metre away, a dainty paw held to her muzzle in a weak attempt to hold back a chuckle. The dragoness was around Cynder's age and was heavily adorned in golden jewellery which complemented her golden horns and chest plates.

Not being a fan of being surprised, the black dragoness held back a snarl as she glared at the opposing dragon. "Why would you sneak up on me like that, Ember?!"

Ember let out an unrestrained chuckle before giving the black dragoness a victorious smirk. "I'll have you know that I didn't really sneak up on you at all! I was just flying around, enjoying the brilliant morning sun before I noticed you. I landed. It was only after you didn't give inclination that you heard me that I spoke up." The pink dragoness flicked her paw in a dismissive gesture. "But that doesn't matter right now. You looked deep in thought there so it made me curious. What. Are. You. Thinking. About?"

Cynder recoiled from the opposing dragoness' straight-forwardness, turning away bashfully. "N-Nothing."

"Hmm, yes. How interesting," she commented, her smile taunting. "So, I'm not normally into betting, but let me take a gamble and say you were thinking of a certain purple dragon?"

"I wasn't!" Cynder countered indignantly, a fresh tint of red coming to her dark scales.

Ember laughed. "Let's imagine I believe that. So, mind telling me why you're blushing then?"

The black dragoness stuttered. "I-I'm not blushing!"

"Could have fooled me."

The black dragoness glared daggers at the opposing dragoness, not saying anything before turning away, dismissing the question. She waited a few seconds before; "What do you want, Ember?"

There was silence for a few moments before the black dragoness heard Ember pace over to her right before laying down beside her, her attention switching to the sunrise. Most of the humour from their conversation had already faded, the last remnants of a teasing smile falling from pink dragoness' expression.

The jewelled dragoness waited, not saying anything as her pink eyes took in the horizon and the early morning glow glimmered off her golden horns and jewellery. Another few seconds passed before she turned to Cynder, her gaze tinged with uncharacteristic worry. "I just wanted to know how you are feeling about today."

Cynder faltered at the mention of the date and her eyes misted over as she recalled the occasion.

 _Celebration Day._

A day dedicated the Spyro and her victory over The Dark Master, Malefor – the malicious evil purple dragon who almost brought about the end of the world, if it wasn't for them. Or more specifically, if it wasn't for _him_.

Cynder slumped slightly as she remembered the battle and the events that followed shortly after. She gritted her teeth in anger. She felt like an extra to the battle; a side character that did little in the battle but be a burden to the heroic protagonist of this entire adventure. She was useless; a helpless hatchling trying to fight a battle she had barely believed in.

Frankly, if Spyro had not given her the kindness of a second chance, she probably wouldn't have believed in the cause she was fighting for at all. The world was harsh and she was not inclined to try and save such a terrible place that had tried to kill and hurt her at every possible chance during her early life. Back then, it was kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten. Live or die - she was not aware that there were more options. Now, the black dragoness was viewed as a hero for that decision and she knew that she made the right choice.

It was hard to believe that it had already been a year since that day. Time just seemed to fly with the celebrations, the congratulations, the celebrations and then finally the mediocrity of going to Warfang's learning school every day. Unsurprisingly enough, growing up as a war criminal doesn't prepare someone for the history of dragonkind and the understanding of complex number equations. At least it was normal, which the dragoness was thankful for. Both herself and Spyro deserved a chance of a normal life.

Seeming to notice the black dragoness' hesitation, Ember perked up again. "I-I can only imagine how these celebrations must be for you, Cynder. You _were_ the Terror of the Skies after all." The pink dragoness turned her gaze back to the sunrise, her muzzle scrunched in thought. "It must be difficult to face the families of the people and seeing all of those affected by the destruction that you had caused against your will. On top of that, you have already had to battle against all of those that had wished to undermine you because of it for most of this past year and this celebration would only bring more of those thoughts to the forefront." She paused, turning back to her companion. "I honestly don't understand how you do it."

Cynder thought of making a sarcastic remark, to _thank_ the pink dragoness for reminding her of being one of the most relentless killers on the battlefield, slaying hundreds if not a thousand dragons in total. For being the lead cause of so many families being torn apart and bringing misery over many.

But she held it back, knowing it would only make the opposing dragoness feel guilty and lead to a situation that, frankly, she was not in the mood to deal with. Instead, she just shrugged. "I guess I just learnt to live with it," she simply stated. An unsatisfied frown told Cynder that she wanted more, so she continued, resisting the temptation to roll her eyes. "It's kind of sad, but after a while I just learnt to get used to it until it began to matter less and less to me."

Ember gave Cynder a long look, the unsatisfied frown still on her face but the pink dragoness said nothing of it, instead turning back to the sun with a small, "Fair enough."

A long moment passed in silence, the only sounds coming from the steadily bustling city behind as creatures prepared for the celebrations of the day. Cynder allowed her gaze to return to the sun to take in the last remnants of the sun peeking over the horizon, brightening the world to a new day. Seeming to take that as some sort of sign, Ember got to her feet, brushing off some stray pebbles that managed to stick to her flank with a paw.

"Well, I should really take my leave now," she stated, giving Cynder a glance. "Got to make sure my mate-to-be doesn't sleep in for his first important day of being the unofficial fire guardian of Warfang."

Cynder chuckled and gave the pink dragoness a smile. "That does seem like something Flame would do."

Ember returned the smile with a small chuckle. "It is _completely_ something that Flame would do. I swear that dragon is secretly half sloth or something."

"Wouldn't surprise me."

Ember took a few steps toward the city until she was on the edge of the wall before turning back to the black dragoness. "I'll see you in an hour for the breakfast then?"

Cynder nodded. "See you in an hour."

The jewelled dragoness returned the nod before she opened her wings and dropped out of view, leaving the black dragoness alone on the Warfang Wall once more. Cynder, however, had no intention to hurry. She had an hour after all and that was plenty of time to get prepared for the day – even if it was the day they were going to be the star of the show.

The black dragoness let out a contented sigh, allowing her head to droop until her chin touched the ground as she soaked in a few more minutes of morning sun. A glimpse of a thought to wake her companion crossed her mind, but she dismissed it just as quickly.

As much as everyone harps on about Spyro's laziness, she had faith that the purple dragon could awake at a reasonable time on such an important date. He wasn't as lazy as that dolt, Flame who literally required someone to wake him up.

Right?

* * *

The sun rose high in the Warfang sky, the rays of sunlight illuminating the battle-worn city as the already bustling streets were in motion. Market vendors called out their various wares as a busy crowd shuffled through the city to take in the festivities.

Inside a room located at the outer walls in the Dragon Temple of Warfang rested a partly awake purple dragon, his eyes closed as he lay on his bed of many cushions.

Even though he was conscious, Spyro loved meditating in the morning - to just soak in the sounds and smells of the world around him as he lay in his bed, lounging and content. He barely moved on these sluggish mornings and this one was no different with his luxurious bedding being _just_ a bit more comfortable than usual.

The purple dragon lay like that, in the limbo between asleep and awake, eyes closed, body relaxed and a small lazy smile on his muzzle. After a better part of an hour of quiet meditation, he began to feel the drape of blissful slumber overcome him once more before suddenly:

"Spyro?"

The voice rang clear through his head, grating against every single nerve in the purple dragon's body and disrupting his once-peaceful rest. A small moan escaped his mouth at being jolted out of his sleepy stupor but he did not bother open his eyes. He knew the voice all-too-well and he wished that on these mornings that he could ignore it.

"Hey…Spyro!" The purple dragon closed his eyes tighter in a vain attempt to shut his brother out and get back to his resting. Dear ancestors, how hadn't he developed some sort of immunity or at least the ability to ignore the dragonfly's voice without effort?

"Spyroooooooo? Hey! Wake up, big buddy!"

"What do you want, Sparx?" Spyro groaned drowsily, keeping his eyes closed as he half-heartedly swatted at the dragonfly with a wing. To his surprise, it had seemed to make contact as he felt a small amount of pressure on his wing and the room fell into blissful silence…

For a moment.

"What was that, Spyro!? Do you not have any respect for your poor brother which you had, quite dully, swatted aside like some kind of fly!?"

Spyro opened one drowsy eye to look at his brother. The golden dragonfly was utterly flustered, his small arms crossed in front of his chest, his wings moving faster than the drowsy dragon could see as he fluttered half a metre in front of the purple dragon's eye, a glare on his small face. Sparx sported the barest of bruises on the side of his head that seemed to be where the dragon 's wing had connected. Seeing the dragonfly so flustered made Spyro smile in amusement.

"Well, you are a dragon _fly_ ," the dragon stated, a sluggish but impish smile on his muzzle.

The dragonfly raised both hands to his chest and twirled in the air as if he was hit. "I cannot believe what I am hearing!" he cried out, a fake hurt look on his expression. "My own dear brother saying that I am anything like the very food I eat!"

Spyro rolled his eyes before he closed his eye again, the smile still planted on his muzzle. "What do you want, Sparx?" he repeated, amused.

"Hey! HEY! I'm not letting you go to sleep again after I went through all that effort of getting you up!"

"Is that so?"

"Well, yes!"

Spyro yawned and rolled to his other side so that his back was facing the dragonfly.

"Okay, you do that..." He could already feel the cover of sleep drape over him. To make it better, Sparx's raised and annoying voice was sounding more and more faded by the second. Finally, he can get back to his restful nap for at least a few more hours and maybe get up before lunch. Actually, he wasn't even hungry anyways, so he may even skip that as w-

 _Twak!_

Spyro's body reacted far before his sleep-addled brain could register the sting of pain on his forehead, his eyes snapping open and his body jumping to life. He was on his paws and was already three quarters of the way through swiping at the dragonfly with a forepaw before he could comprehend what he was doing. Sparx quickly darted down and the paw flew harmlessly past the dragonfly's head, seeming to have expected the strike this time.

Sparx sighed, raising a small arm to wipe away a non-existent bead of sweat from his forehead. "Well, at least you're awake now."

"Sparx! Wh-Why? What?"

"Man, I swear that the only way to wake you up nowadays after you've defeated The Big Bad Guy is to give you a good wack on the head – or in my case, the forehead."

Spyro could feel his anger rising and he was tempted to give his brother the shouting required from such a rude awakening, but he decided against any further argument, instead letting out an irritated sigh and glare at the dragonfly, now annoyed. "What do you want, Sparx?"

"Well, technically, it's not about what I want but what someone else wants."

Spyro raised an eyebrow at that, now more intrigued. "And who is this 'someone else'?"

"What's the fun in me telling? How about you guess?"

Spyro let out a weary sigh at that as he felt the beginnings of a headache writhe itself into existence. He was unprepared for this morning. Come to think of it, he doubted anyone would be prepared to deal with the dragonfly at such an early time of the day.

The purple dragon raised a paw and massaged his temple, giving his brother another glare as he went back to sit on his bedding. "Sparx, you just woke me up. I'm tired, I'm drowsy and to be blunt I'm really not in the mood for your games right now. Either you tell me who put you up to…whatever _this_ is, or I'm going back to sleep."

The golden dragonfly pouted at that and crossed his arms across his chest. "Hey, I'm not getting a kick out of waking you up either, you know! I just thought I should tell you about the morning meal _which you are late for_ because you are my bro."

Spyro paused at that, his paw still on his head as he peered at the dragonfly inquisitively. "Morning meal? For what?"

"Well, I dunno, maybe for _you and Cynder for saving the world!_ "

His eyes widened. "That's today!?"

"Well, it's not tomorrow…or yesterday…or the day before that…or the day after tomorrow," the dragonfly trailed off into a murmur.

"Sparx! Why didn't you tell me this before!?" The purple dragon jumped to his feet as sudden, invigorating energy flooded through him, already zoning out the dragonfly's response as he looked around his living quarters with renowned haste.

The room was relatively spacious for sleeping quarters, being at least ten metres wide and a few more metres long. At the far end of the room, there was a balcony that overshadowed most of Warfang, giving quite a stunning view of the city below.

Despite it, Spyro never liked the amount of space he was given when the guardians had initially suggested the room to be his living quarters. The purple dragon was used to sleeping in much smaller, cramped spaces, having grown up as a gargantuan dragonfly. The sight of having so much empty space to be called his initially made him uncomfortable. He also thought it was too big for *just sleeping*, but the guardians were persistent in their decision and had told him that he deserved the extra living room for saving the world. He felt that it would be rude to argue to that.

Lavender eyes scanned over his various furniture, looking from his bed, to the colourful, multi-coloured beaded curtains which divide parts of his room, to the mostly empty oakwood bookcase and finally to his heavily decorated chest of armour. His gaze paused on it.

"You don't think that I would have to wear my decorative armour, would you?" he asked, turning to his brother.

The dragonfly gave the chest a brief look before shaking his head. "Nah, the ceremony is only in the evening, after we celebrate the tournament winner. That's when the public would see you and when you get to look all spiffy and sparkly."

Spyro gulped at that, sudden panic coming to his features as he turned to his paws in despair. He had completely forgotten that he had promised the guardians to give a speech at the end of the day. To say he was unprepared would be an understatement.

Although Celebration Day, as the citizens of Warfang have dubbed it, was focused on celebrating the end of the war and freedom it has given creatures, the Ice Guardian Cyril had suggested the idea of both himself and his companion Cynder to make an appearance, which by extension meant some kind of speech. Both young dragons were against the idea initially but they knew regardless of what they felt, they had to go through with it. They would hate to be the cause of a restless crowd on such a joyful event. And so, they swallowed their discomfort and nodded their heads.

The purple dragon was not even in front of the crowd and was already regretting his decision. The speech would be the second time he would be in front of such a large crowd. He could still remember the events following himself and Cynder returning to the cheering city of Warfang a year ago when they defeated The Dark Master…

Spyro shook his head, clearing his head from the thoughts as he turned to the door in his room, his gaze filled with renewed determination. This was not the time to worry about that. He had other more important things to focus on.

He turned to Sparx and gestured with his head toward the door.

"Come on, we should go before we get any later," the purple dragon said as he walked through the door swiftly, not waiting for the dragonfly.

Sparx rolled his eyes as he fluttered beside the purple dragon. "Correction; before _you_ get any later."

The two mix-matched brothers emerged into long, broad hallway decorated with a few pictures of various apparently well-known dragons and moles. Like many of the rooms inside the temple, clean white marble tiles made up the ground of the corridor, with only a small strip of deep red, lush carpet in the middle of the hallway. To their left was one more door before the end of the hall while the right was access to other sleeping quarters and the rest of the temple.

Spyro went to go right but hesitated, looking at the lone door to his left, a look of uncertainty coming to his face.

"She's already ahead of us, Spyro," Sparx said blandly, reading the purple dragon's mind with an annoyed scowl. "Who do you think _told_ me to wake your lazy tail up?"

Not waiting for an answer, the dragonfly flew ahead and toward the temple's dining room. After a brief, hesitant pause and a quick glance toward Cynder's room, Spyro turned and followed his brother. The pair navigated through the once-intimidating hallways in the temple with ease that came with living in the building until they were in front of a set of wooden doors.

Spyro placed his shoulders on the right door and heaved. With more effort than he would have preferred, the purple dragon opened it until the space was large enough for the young dragon to slip on through.

As soon as the pair of mismatched brothers entered the room a piecing, young voice disrupted the dull murmur of conversation in the room.

"Heeeeeeeeeey, look what the moles drag-gon!"

There was a long-drawn-out moment of stunned silence before Spyro heard a loud slap to his right. A quick glace revealed an exasperated Sparx with a tiny hand over his face, shaking his head in annoyance…or was it disappointment? While the sight made the purple dragon smile, he also resisted the urge to follow suit.

"That was terrible," the dragonfly said, his voice muffled through his hand.

Only a brief moment later, the purple dragon heard another slap from ahead of him and he turned to face it. A group of dragons were all sitting on ornate cushions around a lengthy, circular table – already full of food he noted, all now staring at a pair of dragons, and the source of the noise. A pink dragoness glared at the fiery red dragon beside her, a paw held out post-slap as the opposing dragon held his jaw, a pained look on his face as he gazed at the dragoness.

"Is that any way to welcome the beloved dragon who rescued our hides on the very celebration of him doing so?!" Ember hissed to the red dragon, her eyes still bearing a glare that could cause someone to question if she had the fear element itself.

"It's not my fault he took too long so that I had enough time to make it up," Flame whined back as he rubbed the slightly redder scales on the side of his jaw with a forepaw.

"It _is_ your fault for making such a dreadful pun, however…!"

Despite the situation, Spyro found himself smiling as he saw the two young dragons bicker between themselves. This wasn't even new to the two of them – ever since they came to the city a few months back, Flame would be getting into his various antics and Ember would be at his back, ready to ruin any source of enjoyment that the red dragon would get out of it. At first, Spyro did not know how to feel about the two when he met them, but they turned out to be quite likeable people and the longer they seemed to stay around, the more he began to like them.

Suddenly realising the distraction, the purple dragon zoned the pink dragoness out and took the chance to allow his gaze to drift across the table, quickly recognising the three elemental guardians; Terrador, who was trying his best to be stoic, although he could see a small smile tug at the green dragon's face; Volteer, who wore a smile, mirth in his eyes as he observed the events before him; and Cyril, who was in stark contrast to his fellow guardians and was glaring at Flame, a thin line forming across his muzzle.

The three elder guardians of Warfang had their work cut out for them after Malefor's defeat, having to manage the rebuilding of most of their fair city while making sure everyone had a place to stay and an active guard to keep everyone safe, all while dealing with their deceased friend and colleague, Ignitus. Spyro could never understand how they managed it, but thanks to Terrador taking up the unofficial role as head guardian, things worked out for the better.

The purple dragon quickly recognised Cynder who was looking at the proceedings beside her with amusement as the two loud bickering dragons continued to argue just to their right.

As if sensing his gaze, she turned toward him and their eyes met. The black dragoness gave him a small smile, half-raising a wing to gesture at the empty seat beside her. Spyro returned a sheepish smile before his gaze fell to his seat beside the black dragoness. All he had to do was get to his seat without getting the attention of everyone else – that should at least reduce the lecture time the guardians would give after they realised.

That idea was to be short-lived.

The purple dragon had not even taken a few steps before Cyril's stern, aged voice slashed through the air like a viper, instantly ending the conversation between Flame and Ember and seizing all attention of those inside the room. His icy blue eyes met Spyro's startled lavender and the scowl on his muzzle deepened.

"I expected better from you, Spyro," the blue dragon told him coldly. "It is expected that, as the purple dragon, you are to attend all meetings that request your presence _on time_ , or to at least not be the cause of the delay. This is the third time in the last week where you have been late to a meeting…"

Spyro turned downwards in shame as the ice guardian continued, though the words itself were lost to the purple dragon as he had this talk. To make matters worse, the ice guardian wasn't exaggerating – this _was_ the third time in a week that the purple dragon has been late to a meeting, which led to unnecessary chores and even more lectures. Ancestors above, he felt like a misbehaving hatchling being scolded after doing something they were not supposed to.

A pang of regret swelled through him as he was suddenly assaulted by stray memories of his early childhood with his foster parents in the dragonfly village. The purple dragon almost chuckled as he recalled the mischief both himself and Sparx would get into as they played harmless pranks on the other villages and scout areas of the land that were dubbed forbidden by their parents. Of course, it was because of the two brothers doing the latter that had allowed him to discover his true origins and to fight and succeed against a maleficent purple dragon who tried to destroy the world. He missed the days when he was a small creature in his own small world full of small dragonflies, who lived in their small homes with their small problems. Now he was stuck in a life of responsibilities he didn't want and being told off for being late to a meal.

As if hearing the purple dragon's thoughts, Volteer stood and gave the ice guardian an exasperated look. "Now, now Cyril, we have all witnessed this debacle before," Volteer interrupted, each word spoken at a pace and velocity that Spyro has learnt was common for the guardian. "It does not need to be stated, but everyone at present is aware that your actions are to the benefit of Spyro, however repeating the same actions in an attempt to gain a different result is non-beneficial for both Spyro and everyone in this room." He took a quick glance at Spyro before continuing. "I suggest we do not delay today's proceedings any further and to have this conversation at another occasion and another location. What say you, Cyril?"

The ice guardian was silent for a few long moments, just looking at his comrade in thought as if he was trying to settle a debate in his mind. It was another long moment before Cyril turned away from Volteer and toward Spyro, an almost defeated look on his face. "Volteer is right, we are already behind schedule and there is no point in delaying the celebrations further. However, Spyro, I will still be having a talk with you regarding your duties as the purple dragon." He turned to Terrador, expression hard. "That is all," he indicated before taking a seat.

The earth guardian returned a small nod back. "Very well," the green dragon rumbled in his deep voice before turning to Spyro. He silently gestured to the purple dragon's seat beside him and the young dragon followed the silent order without question, settling down near the head of the rounded table beside Cynder and the earth guardian.

Terrador waited a short amount of time after the young dragon had seated before he turned to the other members at the table.

"As you all know, today we are celebrating the first annual Celebration Day, a day which celebrates the defeat of The Dark Master, Malefor, through a long battle against our esteemed Spyro and Cynder." He turned to the two dragons briefly, a small smile on his muzzle. "It is because of this that I will need everyone to act in their best behaviour. Flame! As Ignitus' successor you are expected to remain with us for most of the day and to learn how we behave and deal with today's proceedings." The earth dragon gave the young dragon a small glare. "We also expect you to act mature as there will be many important faces for you to meet and your actions would directly affect Warfang's reputation."

Flame opened his mouth to retort but a hard glare from Terrador silenced any objections, leaving the fire dragon with a mouthful of air. Instead he released his breath with a defeated sigh before muttering a small, "Yes, sir."

Having felt like he got his point across to the red dragon, the earth guardian turned to Spyro and Cynder. "This applies to both you and Cynder as well, Spyro. As Cyril has already mentioned, you are expected to act your part as the purple dragon – which includes talking with those that could help our cause in rebuilding and improving Warfang after the sun has risen past its highest point."

Spyro silently nodded. He was already aware of his duties as purple dragon. It was something hard to ignore with the guardians already having started preparing him for socialising with those of 'high status' a few months in advance. It made the purple dragon have even greater respect for Terrador and his colleagues as he had learnt that the battle of words was just as intense as on the battlefield with a dragon's sharp wit being as dangerous as any talon or tailblade.

Terrador gave a satisfied nod, glancing at the other members around the table. "The outline of the day is simple; after this meal we will all go our separate ways in making sure everything is ready and is working perfectly. Then at noon, we will all meet up again to speak with those that can help us, before finally at sunset we watch the finals of the tournament being held throughout the day where Spyro and Cynder are expected to give a speech after rewarding the winner of the tournament with their prize." He paused for a moment. "Any questions?"

The earth guardian waited a few seconds, studying the other members of the table for any hint of queries.

When he found none, the earth dragon turned back to the purple dragon and the black dragoness beside him, a soft smile on his muzzle. "With the planning out of the way, I would like to formally award you, Spyro and Cynder, with a gift from the guardians and all those from Warfang in acknowledgement to the tremendous feats both of you had endured to save the world from The Dark Master."

As he said that, the guardian gave a small gesture with his wing and Spyro turned to see a small group of moles enter the room. The purple dragon's eyes widened and his jaw hung agape when he beheld what they were carrying.

The small, squat creatures were having a hard time carrying in two young draconic mannequins that were around the same size as a young dragon. On each model was a full set of ornate armour, cleaned and polished until it sparkled in the light. Even from his seat around the table, Spyro could see the exquisite craftsmanship of both sets of armour with various glyphs and runes engraved into the metal, many sparkling with arcane magic. The respective armour looked somewhat akin to each other, however they had a similar colour combination to their owners with the purple dragon's being prominently gold with a bit of purple and Cynder's armour being mostly silver with a few patches of black. Other than the colour palette, the black dragoness' armour was slightly more curved to fit Cynder's frame than the purple dragon's armour, but that was where the differences ended. They were obviously meant to be worn beside each other. There was so much to take in about the armour that Spyro doubted that he was able to see everything the armour offered.

For now, all he could do was stare in amazement at this gift. He spared a quick glance at Cynder to see that she had a similar look of astonishment on her face. She caught his gaze and Spyro's heart fluttered a bit at the look of pure unadulterated happiness in her aquamarine eyes. His own gaze softened when he recalled that this was the first real gift she had received in her entire life. Aside from the small tokens of thanks from the many inhabitants of Warfang, the black dragoness hadn't received any gift that was of significant value and was strictly for her alone.

He offered a quiet smile when he noticed a small tear come to the dragoness' eye and he raised a comforting wing over her. Cynder said nothing, but offered a small apologetic smile as she gently shrugged off his wing, which the purple dragon lowered without hesitation. The black dragoness turned to Terrador, a joy-filled smile clear across her muzzle.

"T-Thank you Terrador, I'm sure Spyro would agree with me when I say that these gifts are greatly appreciated," Cynder said, accompanied by a small nod from the purple dragon.

"Excellent! We are most pleased that this gesture is to your liking. However, that is not all! In addition to being visually appealing, each piece of armour also contains some of the most potent enchantments known to dragonkind!"" Volteer piped up as he rose a directing paw to the sets of armour again.

For a long moment Spyro was rendered speechless by this development. Finally, he stammered, "Wow. I...I don't know what to say! Thank you all so much."

The guardians responded with a smile and a small nod. Terrador cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and continued, "Now that all the gifts are out of the way, I would like formally announce the start of the Celebration Day!" He raised a wing so that the wing curled and the edge met the middle of his chest in salute. "May the Ancestors and all of those who lost their lives to this war watch over us on this faithful day."

The other dragons around the table repeated the gesture. "May the ancestors watch over us," they all repeated.

Spyro stared at the elder guardians around the table and it was clear that they themselves were reminiscing on the memories of Ignitus. Just thinking of his name brought an unexpected wave of emotion to the purple dragon's eyes. His gaze wandered to the portrait of the previous fire guardian in the room. Despite only knowing Ignitus for a month or two, the fire dragon's death had revealed how much Spyro liked the dragon. It felt painful to relive his memories of the guardian, as selfish as that was.

The purple dragon sat still, pondering and remembering the less intense moments he had with Ignitus when he was jostled out of his thoughts by the sounds of eating from those around him. Blinking away his thoughts, Spyro finally looked at the feast before him.

It looked amazing. Spiced meats, meat pastries, some leaf-like dishes, fruits and even various drinks were scattered around the table. Despite the emptiness in his stomach and the saliva gathering at the edges of his mouth, the purple dragon was having a hard time deciding on what to eat first. After a few seconds of debating without success, the purple dragon grabbed the nearest thing around him – a leg of lamb with assorted spices on it – and began digging in.

It was amazing. Despite having lived in the Dragon Temple ever since both himself and Cynder had saved the world, and being fed a large variety of great foods, this was easily one of his favourites.

Within a minute, all the meat around the bone was gone and he grabbed the next thing closest to him and began devouring it at a rapid pace. As bad as his manners were, he did not get any strange looks from the other dragons around the table, each of them seeming to be enjoying their choices to a similar extent, albeit at a more restrained pace in the case of the elder guardians, an amused smile on their faces.

It was after a couple of minutes of uninhibited eating that Spyro heard the large doors into the room creak open and the purple dragon turned, mouth still full of food to see a mole enter the room and quietly close the doors behind him. The purple dragon instantly noticed by the armour that the mole was wearing and the badges upon it that it was one of the many Dragon Temple guards.

The stout mole took a few steps into the room before giving a deep bow and meeting Terrador's gaze. "I am most sorry to interrupt your meal, masters. However, there is a pair of interesting-looking young dragons outside that have requested to meet you."

The earth guardian's brows raised an inch. "Young dragons you say?" he inquired surprised before turning to the other elder guardians questioningly. His sight was met with a pair of denials from the other guardians as they shook their heads.

The earth guardian returned a small nod before turning to the mole again, his gaze gentle but stern. "Tell them that we have a busy day ahead of us and that we cannot be taking any meetings this morning." He paused. "If that is all, you are dismissed," he said, turning away from the mole in a polite but dismissive gesture.

The mole raised a small outstretched arm. "Excuse myself again, Master Terrador, but the two seemed to foresee your dismissal because they asked for me to give you their names in an attempt to change your minds."

Terrador returned his gaze to the guard, his gaze showing the barest of frustration though his tone was level. "What are the names of these guests of ours?"

The guard turned his gaze to the ground and fidgeted with his paws nervously seeming to have also noticed the guardian's annoyance. "They had said that their names were Cavice and Flare," the mole said before hurriedly continuing, "but if you would have me to send them away I will do so without any…" He paused. "Master Terrador?"

Confused, Spyro followed the guard's gaze to the guardians curiously. A look of disbelief was on the elder guardians' faces as a stunned silence descended upon them. At this point, everyone else around the table had also noticed the guardians' reactions and had stopped their eating, all gazes now turned to the elder dragons curiously. It was only a couple of seconds of silence until Terrador gained a bit of composure.

The earth guardian nodded toward the mole. "Yes…yes, you can let them see us."

The guard now cocked his head to the side curiously, a notable amount of concern on his face. "Masters, if you feel like these two may be a threat, we can always escort them in confi—"

"Th-That would not be a requirement," Volteer cut in quickly, still looking slightly flustered. "You may escort them in without restraints as they are young dragons that we have faced before and they are not a threat to anyone here. We trust these two to keep a respectable air among them."

The guardian's final words were shortly followed by a snort of amusement from Cyril, though the ice guardian did not add anything further.

The guard looked from the electricity guardian to Terrador, silently asking for final confirmation. The earth guardian nodded once and the mole gave a quick bow before exiting the room, closing the heavy doors behind him.

Another long silence settled upon the room. The guardians seemed to be deep in their thoughts with their gazes fixed in front of them. It was another few seconds of silence before Spyro decided to break the lapse in conversation, allowing his curiosity to get the better of him.

The purple dragon looked up at the earth guardians beside him. "Who are these dragons, Terrador?"

"They are some foolish hatchlings we met shortly after the Eternal Night," Cyril cut in acidly, his expression in a powerful grimace, teeth slightly bared. "They suddenly came to the previous Dragon Temple shortly after your departure to find Cynder, Spyro." He turned to Terrador. "Your decision was hasty, Terrador. All this meeting will accomplish was to put our already tight schedule further behind and for what? To satisfy these hatchlings with a proper welcoming that they would not even appreciate!?"

The sudden venom in the ice guardian's voice caught Spyro off guard and silenced any further questions the purple dragon had, though it only fanned the flames of his curiosity.

After another moment of silence where the earth guardian stayed silent, Cyril turned back to Spyro and continued, "Those hatchlings had taken advantage of Ignitus' kind heart to take them in by convincing him that their lives were harrowing up to that point yet they did not openly reveal why." The ice guardian's jaw clenched in anger as he stared at the plate of food in front of him. "Then they benefited even further by convincing us to train them in basic and advanced elemental magic!"

"Were they capable?" Cynder asked suddenly, brow raised.

Cyril whipped his head to face the black dragoness, the anger still clear in his eyes. "No! They were completely inept hatchlings that couldn't even conjure basic elemental techniques! If it were not for Ignitus, I would have abandoned them right there out of their complete incompetence." The blue guardian snorted. "It makes me glad for what happened to them! Darn maggots got the-"

"That is enough, Cyril!" Terrador roared, his deep voice rumbling through the room and startling everyone around the table. He gave his fellow guardian an intense glare, rage evident on his expression. Cyril didn't seem fazed.

The earth guardian let out a low growl. "You go too far! You know why we took them in, and it has nothing to do with what you just mentioned!"

The ice guardian gave another snort but didn't make any notion to reply, seeming to concede. Terrador turned to the younger dragons around the table, the scowl still on his face. "All you need to know is that these two were lost in the forest when we took them in and trained them shortly before we came to Warfang."

The unanswered question that everyone seemed to be thinking was, _So why are they not in the city already?_ However, the elder dragons did not give the answer.

Spyro allowed his gaze to fall to the plate of unfinished food in front of him, his appetite for the meal already faded. A grimace came to his muzzle as his eyes misted over in thought. Why were the guardians so surprised when the guard announced the names? He was obviously missing a part of this story that the guardians were not being open about and it made the purple dragon feel uneasy.

The door creaked open and everyone in the room stopped, all heads turning to the entrance. The same mole guard was standing, paws behind his back professionally though there was an air of hesitation around him as he gave a quick look around the table. The mole turned to Terrador once again.

"M-Master Terrador, would now be a good time to escort our guests in?"

The guardians regained their composure, sitting up to look more presentable before Terrador responded with a small nod. "Yes, you may let them in."

The mole returned the gesture before turning behind him and gesturing with a paw to the creatures behind. The room was silent as the pair of young dragons entered the room.

The first thing Spyro noticed about the two newcomers was that they held an air about them. Though they looked around his age, the guardians – and by extension everyone in the room, seemed tense as the duo slowly examined the room. Both dragons wore long, black cloaks that shrouded their bodies, revealing only their tails and wings. The hoods of the cloak were pulled back to reveal their faces. Both dragons were decorated with jewellery from horn rings to a pair larger rings that wrapped around the upper and lower parts of their tails. The jewellery itself was mostly gold with a few glimmering gems imbedded into it, but while it was an obvious show of wealth, it wasn't as glamorous as many nobles the purple dragon had met.

As the duo approached, Spyro spotted ornate golden chokers around their necks which had massive gems imbedded right in the centre. Both dragons also had dark, elaborate-looking satchels that were looped between their neck and forepaw. The satchels didn't seem to get in the way as they approached, though he could imagine that they would make it hard to run.

While both were well-built, one of them; a red scaled dragon with bright fiery red eyes, was larger and burlier, standing at least a few inches above his blue scaled companion. His gaze seemed to wander nonchalantly as he entered, his eyes scanning across the various furniture that decorated the interior of the meal room, not seeming to examine each thing in detail but looking nonetheless. Though the tension in the room was palpable, his body was relaxed and he didn't seem affected by the atmosphere.

The other dragon, a smaller blue dragon with bright teal-blue eyes was looking straight at the occupants around the table with an eye of intrigue, though his face revealed little if any emotion. The dragon's eyes trailed through all occupants around the table, stopping on the purple dragon for a moment longer, but his face was a blank slate as he returned his gaze to Terrador.

The purple dragon raised a brow as his eyes scanned over the duo's unique apparel again. He had not seen cloaks of this kind being used by a dragon – these types of clothes were common among the other, bipedal creatures around Warfrang such as cheetahs and moles, but the concept of such a design to be worn by a quadrupedal creature was new to him and a quick glance to the others around the table only confirmed his suspicion. The cloaks themselves looked finely-made and there was a golden trim that traced the outer edges of the cloth which also seemed to scream wealth.

Spyro averted his eyes back to their faces as they stopped a metre in front of the table, the red dragon's demeanour suddenly becoming slightly more dignified though he was still relaxed.

Terrador looked down at the pair of dragons, his eyes gazing over each of them. A long moment passed in silence as the earth guardian studied the young dragons before a warm welcoming smile came to the guardian's features. "It is a pleasure to see both of you again, Cavice, Flare," he said, nodding toward the dragons as he said their names.

The blue dragon, Cavice, gave a deep bow, revealing a pale silver armoured paw as he extended a foreleg across his chest, his cloak flowing seamlessly as he did so. The red dragon, Flare, followed suit after his companion as he mirrored the gesture, also revealing a gauntleted paw before it vanished beneath the dark cloak once more with a small clink. It suddenly occurred to Spyro that both newcomers were armoured beneath their attire – to what extent and the reasoning behind doing so worried the purple dragon, though he tried his best not to reveal it.

Cavice gave a small smile as he looked at Terrador again. "The feeling is mutual, Master Terrador."

The blue dragon turned to the rest of the elder guardians and gave a small bow toward them. "It is also nice see you too, Master Cyril. Master Volteer. It truly has felt like a lifetime."

Cyril returned the nod silently and Volteer pipped up, sitting up a bit straighter as he beamed at the two dragons. "Yes, quite so! The two of you provided us quite the astonishment by landing here on the morning of Celebration Day!" the yellow dragon buzzed, the words flowing seamlessly past his maw at a rapid pace.

Flare, the red dragon, stepped forward at that, a small sheepish smile on his face. "Ah, yes. We do want to apologise about that; we were not aware that we had decided to visit on the anniversary day of such a…monumental event." He paused. "We would have delayed our arrival should we have known."

The electricity guardian turned to the red dragon with the beaming smile still on his face. "You seem to have misinterpreted my statement, young dragon! I had only stated as such due to your unexpected arrival on such an event!"

"While we're on the topic of the event," Cyril cut in, before Volteer could respond further – earning himself a glare from the electricity guardian which again didn't seem to faze the blue dragon. The ice guardian gave both Cavice and Flare a narrowed look and continued, "I believe you haven't met the other members of the table yet," the ice guardian said, raising a directing wing at Spyro, Cynder, Flame and Ember as he began introducing everyone. The purple dragon started, sitting up a few inches in attention as the two visitors turned to him.

Cavice had the same guarded look on his face as when he had entered, his gaze seeming to once again pierce the purple dragon, to take him apart piece by piece and be able to read him as if he was a book. Flare seemed a little less restrained to hide his emotions as he gave Spyro small, apologetic smile as the red dragon regarded him, seeming to be aware of the affect his companion's gaze was having on the purple dragon, though he made no attempt to reveal anything more.

Spyro gulped silently. Here he thought that he had gotten used to being the centre of attention over this past year through all the countless meetings he's had with the remaining nobility in Warfang, but he would be lying if he thought that the strangers' stares left him at ease.

"Well then. On behalf of my brother and I, it is an honour to meet you, Master Spyro. Master Cynder. Master Flame and Ms Ember," Flare said with the smile, both visitors giving a small bow to the dragons and dragonesses as he said their names.

Spyro blinked. _Brother?_

His gaze narrowed onto the duo while they were busy focusing on the other younger dragons, the purple dragon's eye concentrating on each part of them that would reveal any similarities between the two for a few seconds. He found very little. While they both had some similar features, with both their horns and chest plates being the same colouration of gold, their differences were even more vast with completely different scale colours and stature. And if their scale colour was any hint to their elements, then that only brought about more questions than it answered.

After all introductions were finished, Terrador cleared his throat to get the attention of Flare and Cavice. "I would hate to shorten this meeting, young Flare and Cavice, however we have quite a lot of preparation to get to so that this celebration goes smoothly." The smile returned to his face. "Do you by chance have a place to stay in the city?"

The brothers shared a glance before Flare stepped forward. "We had just flown in this morning so we were actually going to find a place after this," the red dragon responded, his expression revealing nothing about his thoughts.

The earth guardian paused, his brows narrowed in thought as his gaze drifted down to the empty plate in front of him. A moment passed before he returned his eyes to the pair of dragons. "How would you feel about staying in the temple?"

There was an instantaneous reaction from Cyril as the ice guardian stood from his seat, a glare on his face and an objection on his lips, but he stopped when his earth guardian companion met his gaze with equal intensity. The two fought a silent battle between them that lasted a few brief moments before Cyril relented, a deep set scowl on his face as he silently took his seat once again wordlessly.

Flare paused and his gaze scanned over the ice guardian throughout the entire event, his fiery red eyes examining the blue dragon for a few moments. A relaxed smile came to his face as he turned back to Terrador, and he gave another small bow. "We would like that very much, Master Terrador."

"Excellent," Terrador rumbled, the glare falling from his face as the smile returned. He turned to the electricity guardian beside him. "Volteer, would you be kind enough to guide our two guests to the spare rooms we have in the temple and briefly show them around the city until noon?"

The yellow guardian nodded his head, his expression suddenly brightening as a large smile spread across his muzzle. "It would be an honour to be an attendant in exhibiting the immensity of Warfang on such a tremendous day!"

Volteer almost bounded until he was beside the visitors, the conflict between his colleagues already seeming to be forgotten as he paused and turned to the two guests. "Come along now, we have an immense volume of historic enlightenment to delve into before the sun is high!"

Flare and Cavice nodded their heads silently, not providing any resistance to the idea as the yellow guardian almost jauntily exited the room. They paused, giving the members of the table another bow before they followed silently.

Spyro's gaze fell to his paws again as his eyes misted over in thought. Those two scared a deep part of him. He did not know what they did to trigger such a strong reaction within him, after all, they were rather polite to him. But the very presence they had around them made the purple dragon on edge and uncomfortable. And now those two were supposed to live in the dragon temple alongside himself and Cynder?

 _Dear ancestors, I hope this feeling is wrong._

"That went better than expected," Terrador suddenly declared, breaking the silence as he climbed to his feet. Spyro piped up at the movement and turned to the earth guardian, half a dozen questions already on the edge of his tongue but before he could voice them the green dragon raised a paw, halting him. His gaze trailed across all the younger dragons, a stern scowl on his face. "I understand all of you have your own questions about those two, however this is not the place or the time to discuss it." His gaze swept past each of the dragons' once again until his eyes finally met the purple dragon's. "I promise you answers after the festivities today but until then we have many things to do in very little time." He gestured with a wing toward Flame and a seething Cyril and the two guardians and Ember stood. The three dragons came to his side as he turned back toward the purple dragon and Cynder.

Terrador offered a comforting smile. "Do not worry about those two for now, young dragons. Please enjoy this celebration that is being held in your honour until we call for you. Both of you deserve to revel in your victory." The two heroes nodded their heads silently and he turned and left with the other two guardians and Ember in tow. The future fire guardian had a deep scowl on his muzzle as he followed along, seeming to be none-too-impressed at following the two other guardians as little more than an observer, but he did not verbally address it. Ember gave a small wave which the purple dragon gingerly returned as she exited.

A few moments passed in silence before a yellow dragonfly fluttered to the side of Spyro's head.

"So, was it just me, or did those two just feel… _wrong_?" Sparx blurted out, a scowl on his little face.

"What's this? The Great Sparx the Dragonfly is quivering in his wings over two little dragons?" Cynder cut in, an impish smile on her face as she walked up beside Spyro. The black dragoness gave him a small smile in greeting which the purple dragon promptly returned as he stood from his seat.

The golden dragonfly crossed his arms across his chest and rose his chin, dignified. "I'll have you know that my intuition has never lead us astray. Should you need an example, I would like to kindly remind you of that time last month where I voiced my concerns in forcing Spyro to join you for your early morning sun-addiction? He didn't even last half an hour before he was flat unconscious on the city wall!"

Spyro let out a small chuckle, a sheepish smile coming to his expression. "In my defence, I had told both of you before that I'm not a morning person."

"As everyone now knows because of your little hiccup with the time table today," Cynder commented with a playful smile.

The purple dragon let out another sheepish chuckle before he turned to his paws, his cheeks reddening. Cynder chuckled at the purple dragon's reaction and gave him a reassuring bump with a wing as she walked passed him, a comforting smile on her lips.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Spyro. We have an entire day to get through and I doubt being a bit late is as much of a big deal as Cyril made it out to be."

Spyro gave the black dragoness a questioning glance. "You sure?"

Cynder rolled her eyes though the smile remained. "Spyro, we've known the guardians for slightly more than a year. Have you seriously not figured out how Cyril is by now?" Spyro opened his mouth to respond, but she quickly cut in. "Don't answer that." The black dragoness walked a few steps ahead before saying, "You coming?", not even turning to face him as she walked out the room.

"Y-Yes," Spyro stammered as he jogged to catch up to the dragoness.

Cynder had not gotten too far ahead and the purple dragon managed to catch up to her in a matter of seconds. The two dragons and a mildly irritated dragonfly ventured through the temple's hallways in silence until they came to one of a few entrances to the temple. An excited smile came to the purple dragon's face as the din of many voices and the bustle of a busy city came to his ears. As the group came to the entrance, Spyro peeked his head outside. What he saw left him speechless.

A countless amount of a wide variety of creatures marched up and down the busy streets of Warfang as far as his eye can see, some of them having massive smiles on their faces as they ate greasy-looking foods and walked throughout the bustling city.

The massive smile returned to Spyro's muzzle. Dear ancestors, he hadn't seen and heard such a variety of colours and noises in all his life. It was exciting to see so many creatures turn up to an event like this and to restore some life back to the city. To think that there was such an uproar from something Cynder and himself did. It was enough to fill the purple dragon with pride.

He turned to his side to see Cynder looking at him with an amused smile on her face. She chuckled when she was caught staring and absent-mindedly turned to the city. "I forgot, you hadn't seen it already," she said with a smile. "Turns out that waking up earlier than the average dragon has its perks."

"You saw this already!?" Spyro blurted out, which only sparked another chuckle from the black dragoness.

"Yep," she turned back to him, a wide smile on her face. "I couldn't wait to be able to celebrate but it didn't cross my mind that you hadn't seen how busy the city has become until now." She paused. "So, what do you think?"

"I-I…I don't know. I didn't expect so many people to be here," he stammered out. The purple dragon could barely contain his excitement to start celebrating and to do as much as he could in the one day – he didn't even know what he _could_ do.

Seeming to have noticed the opposing dragon's reaction, the Cynder nudged the purple dragon encouragingly. "Well? What are you waiting for, _hero_?" she stated the smile still on her face.

Meeting the dragoness' sarcasm with a bright smile, Spyro let out a massive laugh full of excitement as he spread his wings and flew to the day's events, a smiling Cynder and Sparx not far behind.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **It's been awhile. ^^;**

 **So quite the long chapter this time since I wanted to cover a lot this time. There's a good chance that the chapters from here on would not be anywhere near as long as this one and should not take as much time to write...hopefully.**

 **I would love to hear your opinion on this chapter and all constructive criticism is always welcome so if you ever find a problem with the chapter, please tell me.**

 **Thank you for reading the chapter, I hope you enjoyed it and I'll try to get the next one out as soon as I can.**

 **Until then!**


	3. Chapter 2 - For Old Times

**Chapter 2: For Old Times**

Irritated.

It was the primary feeling that was on Flare's mind as he walked down a particularly busy street of Warfang, his jaw clenched as he was jostled left and right from the numerous dragons, moles and gryphons that had somehow managed to fit in the street. Volteer was a few metres in front of him, separated by a few dragons as they travelled along the busy laneway.

The place was crowded, to put it lightly. Dozens upon dozens of creatures scrambled and shoved each other as they attempted to get through the three-metre-wide street and to their various destinations. There were stalls that had already set up for the day, selling assorted goods from antiques to jewellery to various market food. To make matters worse, the food vendors were taking up even more room on the narrow street and filled the air with the _oh-so-alluring smell_ of hot bodies and sweat being mixed in with the greasy stench of various cooked stall meats, finally topped off with the refined aroma of spiced meats that together created an overpowering cascade of smells.

Needless to say, the red dragon was not having a great time.

After they had left the hall, Volteer had showed them to their rooms where Flare had dropped off his satchel before returning back to the outside world. The tour was uneventful for the most part, being escorted by Volteer around the city which held even more streets with similar situations to the one he was in. It had already been going on for a few hours now and they had thankfully gotten through most of the monuments in the city. Judging from what the electricity guardian had said, this should be their final stop.

He let out a small irritated sigh as he was shoved by a large yellow dragon that looked like he had already eaten too much for the day, earning himself a glare from the adult which the young dragon promptly ignored with a roll of his eyes.

He was already too tired of this. The tour had already been less than exciting, the electricity guardian already making him walk too much as he was told of historic figures that he would not remember and shown through ornate "wonders of the world", which happened to include the new Dragon Temple he had entered beforehand and the more ornate streets of Warfang which the red dragon couldn't care less about.

The only reason Flare was even remotely interested in this tour was so could know the city's layout and where the various markets were normally held. Of course, the population didn't help in that regard either as he kept getting lost in the sea of people.

Volteer, in contrast, was clearly overjoyed at the opportunity to guide someone through the city he had probably lived in for most of his life. Regardless of the issue in population, the electricity guardian's big smile only seemed to grow when his bright yellow eyes gazed at how busy the city was, seeming to not mind getting shoved and jostled as they walked through the streets

That smile was the only reason that Flare continued with the tour – it was obvious that Volteer loved the idea of being a tour guide and the red dragon didn't have it in him to even blemish the yellow guardian's experience on such a monumental day. And so, he trudged along without complaint to their next destination: The Arena.

The red dragon walked wordlessly for a few more seconds before sighing, his eyes turning to the various stalls around him and his gaze clouding in thought as he allowed his body to lead. Dear ancestors, he couldn't wait until it was mid-day and this tour was done. After he was rid of the yellow guardian's tour, he could travel to a more secluded space and enjoy the peace and quietness that it offered. He never liked even slightly crowded areas, and this tour has turned the figurative crowdedness scale to eleven. Maybe he could just go back to his designated room and decorate it a bit – he should have enough money on him for that at the very least. Either that, or he could go find his brother.

His brother.

A grimace came to the red dragon's muzzle as he recalled how the blue dragon had immediately bailed on him as soon as they had been shown their rooms in the temple, effectively leaving him to deal with Volteer, and the entirety of his tour, by himself. Fortunately, the blue dragon abandoning him wasn't the worst – last thing he needed was to keep track of yet another dragon in the tsunami of dragon, moles, gryphons and other creatures. Though it still irritated him that his brother managed to get away with no strings attached while he had to follow the electricity guardian.

His brother's excuse was not even good; _"Oh hey, I work better alone so I'm not going to even give you more than a minute of my attention even though you are setting aside hours for my ungrateful tail. What was that? You were looking forward to being our tour guide? Oh, sorry I don't care. Okay, thanks, bye."_ The red dragon could not help but give a small smile in mild humour at the thought of his brother saying the sentence in such a straight-forward way. He may as well had said it judging from how fast he left.

The red dragon perked up as the large draconic bodies in front of him dispersed to the left and right, revealing a wide plaza. As he padded forward, a relieved smile came to his muzzle as he took in how the spacious it was, easily reaching one hundred metres in diameter. The plaza was clearly designed to be a sort of resting point judging from the sheer size of it and the numerous people sitting and having picnics or chats in the innermost area. The outer edges of the plaza were occupied by even larger crowds who were busy trying to get to the other areas of the city, with even more paths converging from the plaza.

As Flare's gaze swept over the area once more, his eyes focused on a certain electricity guardian further in the plaza who, judging from how he was rapidly waving at him, was trying to get his attention. Supressing an amused smile, the red dragon began his trek toward the somewhat flustered guardian, dodging everyone in between and losing sight of the yellow guardian as he did so.

It was only when he was only a few metres away from where the guardian was that the red dragon noticed Volteer again and that he wasn't alone. Now standing beside the electricity guardian was a pale blue adult dragon who appeared to be talking with the guardian. It was not difficult to decipher that the blue dragon was some kind of Warfang noble, judging from his open show of wealth in the form of the jewellery he was wearing.

Flare did not give the jewellery itself any thought, only giving the gemstones a brief glance akin to that of someone who had seen it a thousand times. Instead, he focused on the pale dragon himself. While it was obvious that the two dragons were having a riveting conversation judging from their smiles and body language, the red dragon couldn't hear a word of it due to the general din of the busy plaza despite his best efforts.

As the red dragon got within a couple of metres, Volteer seemed to notice him as he waved a wing in greeting. The pale dragon's attention followed the yellow guardian's to the young dragon, his sky-blue eyes meeting Flare's fiery red. His gaze was as cold as a frozen wasteland in winter.

"Young Flare! My sincerest apologies for leaving you. I am pleased that you were able to catch," Volteer briefly greeted before turning to the noble again, giving a directing wing toward Flare. "Lord Magnifical, it would be a pleasure to introduce Flare, an acquaintance of mine from a time long ago."

The noble raised a brow toward the guardian. "Acquaintance you say?" His gaze shifted to the young dragon, his eyes inquisitive. "The story of how such a young dragon met and befriended one of the Guardians of Warfang must be a fascinating one."

Flare was silent as the noble's gaze drifted over him, his eyes wandering over the red dragon's cloak. His brows jumped in intrigue when his sky-blue eyes took in the golden choker and golden gemmed bands around Flare's horns. The elder dragon's gaze, though somewhat unnerving, was not enough to make Flare feel too uncomfortable – after all, he had already experienced similar stares back at home for the last year. Though the same could not be said about Volteer.

A quick glance revealed a very different side of the electricity guardian that the young dragon had not seen before. The yellow guardian was obviously apprehensive about the way the noble's gaze never darted too far away from young red dragon. It was unsettling and set Flare on edge. If there was something about the noble that made Volteer hesitate, it meant _he_ had to tread carefully.

Volteer stammered. "Y-You would be correct; however, wouldn't such a narrative be more appropriate at another occasion? After all, we are currently at the dawn of one of the most tremendous festivities in the last year and it would be unwise to encompass so much of your time on such a trivial matter."

Magnifical lifted a paw to his chin, pondering for a moment before turning away from Flare to face the electricity guardian once more. "Yes, you would be right," the pale dragon rumbled. "I do have a busy day today, and a story may take more time than I have."

He suddenly turned to Flare once more. "You. Hatchling."

The young dragon perked up instantly. "Yes, sir?"

"How did you manage to acquire such a unique apparel and jewellery? Do you hail from noble heritage?"

Flare shook his head, not hesitating. "Unfortunately not, sir. I was very lucky to make a…" He paused thoughtfully. "…friend who happened to be from a wealthy family. The family was awfully generous and gifted me the cloak and the jewellery."

The elder dragon raised a brow, a fair amount of suspicion in his blue eyes. "Is that so?"

"Yes, sir."

"And the armour?"

"Also a gift, sir."

Magnifical continued to glare at the younger dragon for a moment longer before he finally relented with a puff of frosty air through his nostrils. "Very well." He turned back to Volteer, a pleasant smile appearing on his maw. "It was a pleasure briefly talking with you, Volteer. I will see you later today."

Volteer stammered. "Y-Yes, it was an honour to make your acquaintance, Master Magnifical and I also cannot await our encounter later in the day!"

Seemingly pleased, the noble dragon gave a small nod before walking off and almost immediately getting lost in the buzz and bustle of the immense mass of creatures on the outer rings of the plaza.

Volteer eyed the noble as he walked away, his expression only easing as soon as the pale dragon had disappeared into the crowd. Flare waited, his gaze on the electricity guardian as the red dragon waited for some sort of an explanation or warning.

When none came, he spoke up, brow arching in intrigue. "So, _Master_ Magnifical?"

Volteer started as if he was jolted out of a trance, bright yellow eyes turning to the red dragon. "Oh, ah, yes. My apologies young Flare, I had not expected such a visit on our tour and it appears that it has left me a bit…flustered." The yellow dragon paused, a bright smile suddenly coming to his face. "I do owe you my most monumental gratitude for identifying the situation and acting accordingly. You are quite a brilliant backslapper, a dazzling flunky, a superb bootlicker!"

Flare frowned, not sure if it was an insult or not. "Uh, thanks?"

"No thanks required – such a skill is in high demand when dealing with the master!" He said with the same bright smile before his expression took on a serious frown.

"However, you were correct to treat that dragon with respect – Master Magnifical is the most influential noble that exists in Warfang. While it is never mentioned, it is common knowledge among the citizens of this city that Magnifical has access to all facilities within Warfang and has influence that stretches into the city's major facilities including Warfang's tribunal."

Flare's brows jumped. "Tribunal? So you are saying that there isn't even an honest justice system in the city?"

A hurt frown appeared on Volteer's face. "No, not at all! Warfang's justice system is right and fair. However…" He trailed off, the frown dropping further in guilt. "There has been a recent case where the accused dragon was not liked by the master and their trial happened to be…discriminatory."

Suddenly Volteer's reaction to the noble made sense – Magnifical held influence over the city's tribunal and had actually acted on it in the past. That meant that anyone he did not like could be sentenced to whatever the noble would desire. He only hoped that the sentence was within reason for the crime. But if that was true…

Flare's eyes narrowed as a sudden burst of anger flooded through him. _This is starting to sound familiar._

Trying his hardest not to allow his thoughts to show, the red dragon tilted his head, his brow arching in curiosity. "So not even the guardians of Warfang have power against Magnifical's influences?"

"Th-that is not what I had said, young Flare," Volteer stated, his eyes avoiding the red dragon's. "Regardless, it would not be in your best interest to interact with him. Should you displease the master, your life in Warfang would become astronomically more difficult."

Flare nodded silently.

The yellow guardian glared at Flare for a moment, seeming to judge if the red dragon was being sincere. "Very well." With a small sigh, Volteer quickly glanced at his surroundings, appearing to collect himself once more.

He turned back to Flare. "Would it be alright if we take a bit of a pause to the tour and talk for a short period of time?" the guardian said with a small sheepish smile as he sat down. "It bothers me to admit this, but I am not as youthful as I used to be."

It was a lie. Both Flare and Cavice had known from the start of the tour that there was an alternate reason behind it and it was somewhat of common knowledge among the two that the Guardians of Warfang were nowhere near old enough to be physically hindered by their age. Volteer was doing a good job hiding the true meaning of his actions, but with the red dragon on high alert, there was no way that it could go unnoticed.

Information.

It was a clever disguise to hide it behind a tour – it allowed them to split Spyro up from the two young dragons and let the guardians interrogate them to their heart's content, essentially performing two tasks in one. A good plan in theory but nothing truly impressive if said dragons didn't catch onto the plan. Regardless, Flare didn't mind; both brothers had expected as much when they had decided to suddenly appear in front of the guardians after four years. He planned on playing his part in this show, so he could avoid any unwanted caution from the guardians. Though it was unlikely that the elder dragons would catch on to his act since he was an oh-so-innocent young dragon, the last thing he needed was to alert them of his true intentions. At least not yet.

Flare played an innocent smile on his face. "No, I don't mind."

"Brilliant!" Volteer smiled, as the younger dragon sat down beside him. The electricity guardian waited a few moments, seemingly to gather his thoughts as the smile fell from his face into a frown once more. After another moment, he turned to the red dragon. "Flare, I am experiencing difficulty wording the question so I would like to apologise with my forthrightness in advance, however…" he trailed off, looking directly at the young dragon, "where have you and your brother been for the last few years? How did you obtain this attire?" he gestured to the red dragon's cloak with a paw. "It goes without question that both of you are not the same hatchlings we met four years ago."

Flare let out a small sigh. "Well, I could tell you what I told your noble friend, but I feel that you want to know more, right?"

When the guardian nodded, Flare looked away thoughtfully, his gaze not really focusing on anything as he pretended to consider what he was about to say. The words were already in his head, the story already expertly crafted over years of consideration. All he had to do was play his part once more.

He took in a deep breath. "Before I begin, I'm assuming you know of Utopias?"

Volteer nodded. "All creatures in the world have a high probability of knowing of The Great City." He sat up straighter, a broad, confident smile on his face. "Utopias is the most immense and influential city in the world and with due cause, as it is the proud residence of The King that governs all major cities on the planet." The words were spoken as if it was recalled specifically word-by-word rather than in the guardian's wording. "His highness' reign even extends to us here in Warfang – even though we exist at the furthest reach of the world." The yellow dragon tilted his head. "But why would a dragon of your age be so interested in the Great City?"

"Because it's where I met my friend." Flare paused, putting a claw to his chin thoughtfully. "Well, technically it was on the outskirts of Utopias when I was travelling to the city but that's beside the point.

"My friend hails from noble heritage due to the fact that his father is one of the highest-ranking nobles in the city. Because of this, I was met with hostility from his two bodyguards when I had first approached him on my way to The Great City – blind of his rank and occupation." Fiery red eyes glazed over as he stared into space once more. "We were both a part of a touring group that were busy seeing the sights around the outskirts of the city. As a dragon who did not know _how_ to get to the city after I had arrived at the land, I found this as an opportune moment to get to my destination while my friend was using it as a sort of disguise to hide himself from unwanted attention – hiding in plain sight sort of thing. The tour went off without issues for the most part, that was until we were ambushed by a large group of grublins." The young dragon paused, his wings flaring out for dramatic effect.

"Without thinking, the noble had sent both of his guards to protect the touring group, leaving him vulnerable and without protection. This naturally had surprised me as I had only considered nobles to be the cautious type, that was until I saw the two guards in combat. The two guards somehow managed to keep at least a dozen grublins at bay for the better part of a minute and had shown unnatural mastery in combat."

Volteer nodded. "That is quite expected as Utopias' military is known to be the strongest in the world due to the requirement to guard the king."

Flare gave the guardian an appreciative nod before continuing. "Anyways, long story short is that I helped them when one of the grublins managed to get past both of the guards and went for the noble – I stepped in and saved his life. After a lot of legal things, the noble promoted me to be the third bodyguard of his little circle and from there, I've been living a fancy life for the last year – being pampered like some kind of royal and given armaments and clothing of the current generation in Utopias."

He gave a small apologetic smile. "Of course, we had wanted to visit Warfang earlier, but it was difficult to get vacation time to travel here."

Volteer laughed. "It is only expected! Travel between Warfang and Utopias is commonplace to take three or four weeks depending on transportation." His eyes brightened in curiosity. "May I ask why you were going to The Great City in the first place? The city is not known for being a tourist destination for those that do not have a lot of coin on them and it did not seem that you had much when we had first met."

"Very well," the young dragon said with a small sigh. "I had been split up from Cavice shortly before I had begun my journey and Utopias had been our meeting up place should either of us get lost. It is naturally the most logical idea as, like what you had mentioned before, it's the city that everyone knows of, so directions to the city would have been easier and more consistent than to other cities."

"Would it be safe to assume that both yourself and young Cavice met without issues?" the guardian asked with a raised brow.

Flare nodded.

"That is wonderful to hear," Volteer stated with a small smile before an almost sad look came to his eyes. "But, if I may ask, what of before that?"

Flare froze as dozens upon dozens of unwanted memories flooded through him once more, memories so clear and vivid to the point that they were lifelike. They froze his limbs and the flawless façade he had kept up suddenly shattered as a horrified glint came into his eye for merely a second before he smothered it with practiced ease. Why was this a surprise to him now? He had known of the inevitable question, yet he had been taken off guard and forced to relive memories he would prefer to hide for a quieter time. Disgrace. He was a disgrace to those who had taught him over the last year. He was a disgrace to all the planning he had done for this exact moment. How pathetic.

"Young Flare?" Volteer perked up, his expression now clouded in worry. "Do you feel well?"

Flare blinked out of his thoughts. "Yes. I'm fine." A sullen frown came to his face as he looked at the yellow guardian. "Are you sure you want to talk about this on such a festive day and here, Master Volteer?" He raised a directing wing toward the crowd around them.

The electricity guardian had a conflicted scowl on his face as he looked at the crowd and then back to the red dragon. He let out a defeated sigh and gazed right into the younger dragon's eyes. "Young dragon, as much as I would prefer to leave this conversation for a more suitable time, myself and the other guardians cannot ignore that you and your three siblings were captured and taken away by Malefor's forces while you were under our safety. So, if you could tell us of anything that could be useful, we would be ve-."

"It wasn't a fun time, Volteer," Flare interrupted with an irritated scowl. "I would rather not talk about it now."

The guardian nodded yieldingly. "Very well. My apologies for prying so deeply." He tilted his head slightly as a small smile came to the elder dragon's muzzle. "And what of Saber and Valie? It simply enthuses me to see your siblings after so long and to see how much they have grown! How are they? Did Valie achieve her goal of being a renowned herbalist? What of her element training?"

Flare turned away from the guardian, closing his eyes slightly as he dipped his head. A part of him was pained to hear their names again. One would think that he would become used to it after all the nightmares he'd had about them. How he couldn't save them. And the excitement in the guardian's voice to see his student again…

Worried yellow eyes filled his vision again. "Young Flare?"

The red dragon sighed before he opened his eyes and turned to the elder dragon again. "They're gone, Volteer."

All sense of mirth and joy within the conversation seemed to die as the words escaped his mouth, leaving all but a deadening silence to engulf the two of them. The guardian stammered, mouth opening and closing as words escaped him for the first time all day. It lasted merely a few seconds, but it felt much longer before he seemed to have steadied himself.

"M-My apologies, young dragon – if I had known, I would not have-."

"It's fine, Volteer."

"V-very well. Apologises if it may be difficult, but would it be acceptable if you could describe how your siblings had mana-."

"Volteer." The red dragon interrupted, irritation creeping into his voice once again. "They have been gone for years now but I still miss them. So, if it is fine with you, can we please stop talking about them on a day meant for celebration?"

The guardian nodded yieldingly yet again. "As you wish, young dragon. I-I am deeply sorry for your loss."

The silence settled upon the two dragons once again. Flare turned to scan if anyone was possibly prying into the conversation. A quick glance revealed nothing out of the ordinary and a secondary scan with his element didn't reveal anything he couldn't already see. Thankfully, it appeared that he got lucky when he got carried away with the conversation and revealed a bit too much information - as forced out as it was. He knew that it was unwise of him to talk about such a private subject in broad daylight – both figuratively and literally as the young dragon's eyes turned to the sun, gauging the time.

Seeming to follow the younger dragon's train of thought, Volteer's gaze also turned to the sun as his eyes squinted against the light. "It appears that it is almost time for me to take my leave, thus we should head to the city's Arena quickly if we still want to finish this expedition," the electricity guardian stated as he turned to the young dragon, an inquisitive brow raised.

Relieved at the change of atmosphere and conversation, Flare gave a shrug as a small, snide toothy grin came to his muzzle. "We've gotten this far already. I don't see why I should not go to the big finale without my expert tour guide by my side." He paused, the grin falling from his face. "If you have time for it of course?"

Volteer laughed as he got to his feet, a great smile on his maw. "Of course, young dragon! I still have some time before I have the meet the nobles of the many cities visiting alongside my colleagues and I would vastly prefer spending it to escort you along the streets of our fair city."

The elder dragon walked until he was on the outskirts of the plaza with Flare following closely behind. The two dragons did not talk as they shoved and ducked past the numerous creatures that were walking to their various activities until they found themselves on one of the many streets that took them away from the plaza. The street itself was relatively busy but thankfully was made for it, with the cobblestone path stretching much wider than the other Warfang streets and allowing them to slow down to a more casual pace at the side of the path while the middle was being used for those in a hurry.

Flare let out a massive sigh as they got to the side of the street. "I'm really not going to get used to having to push my way through people to get to where I want," Flare remarked as his eyes wandered over the new section of the city.

"Did you not have any similar occurrences while you stayed in Utopias?" Volteer asked with an arched brow. "I was of the assumption that the city was an incredibly busy metropolis."

"Well, not for me personally," the young dragon answered casually, not taking his eyes off the scenery. "Whenever the city would get so busy, it would normally be a time where I would be guarding my noble friend from any dangers that they may bring. This often meant that civilians had to give our group a wide berth; anything else would be highly suspicious and could actually be punishable at times should they take suspiciously long."

"How stimulating! This escort must have been quite the adventure for yourself by now!"

It was not a question, but Flare nodded regardless as they continued their walk silently.

Volteer lead him along the street for another minute or so, telling the younger dragon some more miscellaneous facts about the city and the various other structures they passed that he couldn't care less about until a massive oval coliseum loomed in front of them. The building itself was nothing too spectacular from what the red dragon had seen in his time in Utopias, but it also was not by any means an ugly building. The immense walls of the construction were made from a dark stone that curved into an oval, supported by several dark marble columns that held up the roof. Judging from how dragons and griffins alike were flying above, it also appeared that the stadium had an open roof to allow flying creatures easy access into the building.

The electricity guardian guided him in the massive entrance and the red dragon's brows jumped. The place was enormous! Rows upon rows of concentric rings of pale stone stairs encircling a long earthy stage, a labyrinth of earth on top where two groups of dragons with red and blue sashes clashed over an odd-looking ball. The rings appeared to be the seating arrangement for whatever show was on the stage as fiery red eyes scanned over the countless creatures that sat on them, hooting and cheering as the dragons in the middle fought over the bizarre ball object. He estimated that it could easily hold thousands of creatures comfortably.

Flare's gaze turned toward the activity in the middle, his brows again jumping in confusion as he noticed the ball change colour when one of the dragons hit it with his elements. Seeming to follow his gaze, Volteer perked up. "Ah yes, would it be a suitable assumption to state that you have not heard of Thunderball yet?"

The red dragon turned to the guardian, brow still raised in curiosity. "Thunderball?"

"Yes," the guardian affirmed with a small nod. "Thunderball originated here in Warfang during the many peaceful years prior to The Dark Master's disturbance and was a sport that was widely renowned for its competitiveness over the years. The objective is for each player to navigate the maze situated inside the playing area without flying and to hit or throw the ball into the specified goals once imbued with the dragon's element," he explained, lifting a directing wing toward a large circular ring made from magic that lay flat on the ground at one side of the court. Flare spotted another on the other side, currently where both teams were as the red sashed team were successfully batting the ball away from it.

"The playing ball is able to absorb a bit of the dragon's element when hit with them, allowing it to take on some aspects of the element such as the power felt in the earth element, the heat of fire or the charge of electricity. Should a dragon touch the ball when they have not applied their element to it, a concussive, non-lethal blast would radiate from the ball, knocking the player a few paces back but nothing truly dangerous."

As if to emphasise his point, a low boom sounded from the other side of the field and Flare turned to see a red dragon get blown away a metre or two to the side. Seeing the opening, a yellow dragon with a blue sash shot a bolt of electricity to charge the ball before batting it with a paw into the now open goal. A fresh wave of cheers and jeers erupted from the stadium as the red dragon winced and lifted a paw to cover his ear.

Seemingly unaffected by the noise, the electricity guardian continued, now shouting to be heard over the crowd. "Though slightly dated, Thunderball has endured the hardships of time throughout the war and is beginning to make a return alongside another recreational activity that is being held later today!"

"Another sport!?" Flare shouted, a paw still on his ear though the crowd was beginning to quiet somewhat.

Volteer nodded. "Yes! The activity is closer to a sub-genre of Thunderball than one that is completely new, however it has become very popular over the last few years and I can only imagine that its popularity will be greater by the end of the day." The guardian paused, turning toward the sashed dragons playing before lifting a claw to point at the ball. "The sport is known as Evadeball and uses the same ball used in Thunderball! It is played in this same stadium, however the maze is cleared from the platform and another, smaller platform is made from earth and elevated over the existing one." The yellow guardian beamed proudly as he explained it. "It truly is very fascinating."

"Sounds exciting. I cannot wait to watch the games," the red dragon commented with a small, thrilled smile.

The electricity guardian turned back to the younger dragon, the great smile still on his muzzle. "Very much so, though, if you truly feel enthusiastic about the game, you may be able to participate." When the red dragon only responded with a raised brow, the guardian continued, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. "Were you not aware of the audience event later today? I had assumed that you knew of the event but not of the sport - we have passed several posters of the event on our tour today."

Flare's brows narrowed as he recalled ever seeing the posters. Truth be told, the red dragon had been zoning out on several of the so called "tourist destinations" and had primarily focused on navigating the busy city and not trying to split up from his guide. He vaguely remembered seeing posters on the wall but after the first several that he saw that were about the various larger vendors in the festivities, he began tuning those out too. It was no surprise that he missed out on the ones about the tournament.

"There is no reason to ponder deeply on it. After all, you now know and that is all that matters," Volteer stated, snapping the red dragon back to reality. The elder yellow dragon's smile reappeared. "I suppose that you wish to participate in the event?"

Flare snorted. "Pfft, likely not. I don't even know the rules to the game, so my chances of winning would be low." He paused, tilting his head in curiosity as a new question came to his mind. "What _is_ the prize for winning the tournament anyways?"

"Excellent question, young Flare," the guardian comment with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "The winner of the tournament gains a private invitation with their family to the feast held within The Dragon Temple later tonight."

The younger dragon's eye's widened. "The room that Cavice and I had entered this morning? Would this feast be with everyone we saw inside that room then?"

Volteer nodded. "You are correct. That particular room has seen very little use over the past year and has been the location where important conversations have been discussed over meals. Not many creatures have seen the inside of the room as it has been more commonly locked away from outside eyes."

 _Ah, so it is the temple's Grand Hall, then,_ Flare pondered, his eyes narrowing in thought as he turned back to the Thunderball game that was still in progress, though his mind was on anything but it. While the tournament was not too interesting to the young dragon, the prize was the actual thing that caught his attention: a ticket that allowed him to interact with Spyro at his own leisure without the guardians' stares drilling into him throughout the entire event.

At least he hoped so. His brief meeting with the purple dragon earlier in the day revealed that the hero was being heavily protected by the guardians and that he did not know who he and Cavice were. It was to be expected though, seeing as they had only met each other that morning. However, it surprised him when the guardians also didn't perk up to tell the purple dragon of their relation to him.

It mattered little. He was not in any rush to reveal his identity – after all, it was getting fun to see Spyro's unbiased personality and to see him react like he did in the morning. Uncomfortable, nervous…honestly, the purple dragon was a mess and he was lucky that Cavice decided to spare him of the blue dragon's more intense piecing glares. It showed that, while Spyro was at least trained a bit in diplomatic affairs, the guardians had not done a good job and were going to protect him from anything that may showcase how poorly trained the purple dragon was. Though why they felt that they should be protecting the purple dragon from him was a question for another time.

Regardless, he had made his choice already about the tournament. While participating in such a colossal stadium would attract far too many unwanted eyes onto him and furthermore make him reveal more about himself, he had very little choice unless the guardians also sent himself and Cavice a private invitation for the meal tonight, which seemed more and more unlikely the more that the red dragon heard about it. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to wait, so this was their figurative and literal ticket to solve one of their bigger problems.

With a small sigh, the red dragon turned until his fiery red eyes met the guardian, his gaze steeled with new determination. "Volteer, I've changed my mind."

Volteer turned a curious eye toward him.

"Where do I sign up?"

* * *

Stormy clouds loomed overhead, occasionally lighting the darkened mountain lands below as flashes of unnatural lightning sparked above. The land was sparse, all life and vegetation seeming to avoid the terrain, leaving all but a desolate land where no life could sustain itself.

The land was drenched in shadowy darkness aside from a lone touch that emanated soft light onto three figures as they wandered up the mountainside. There was no conversation in the small group as they continued their venture up the rocky terrain until they emerged at a cave that led into the mountain.

The figures continued their silent trek without a word for a minute or two, their pace showing that it was a path well practiced until they emerged to an open cavern. The subterranean room was a dome in shape, stretching many metres in all directions and a few less in height. The room showed signs of use, having collapsed a few years ago, though the room itself was empty aside from the figures.

One of the figures looked around the cavern, a singular bright yellow eye scanning along the entire room. _"This is the first time that I have seen this cavern empty from all the rubble,"_ it said through the grunts and groans of its language as it turned to the larger of its compatriots. _"Remarkable that you and your group managed to clear it out within the year that The Master was gone."_

The larger figure of the group grimaced, easily twice the height of the previous, before grunting. _"This is all assuming that Pvaark is correct in his assumptions,"_ it gestured with a thick arm to the final member of the group, the dark scowl still on its face. _"Which I greatly doubt."_

The third, small creature paid the others no mind as it used its insect-like wings to flutter ahead of the group, only stopping when it had reached the centre of the immense cavern. It then dug into a small satchel it was holding, searching around for a moment or two until it pulled out a small pink coloured gem. The surrounding dark cavern sparked to life with a pale pink light as the gem in the creature's hands illuminated the cavern.

The small creature smiled to itself. _"Yes. This is the correct location."_

" _What was that, Pvaark?!"_

The smaller creature, Pvaark, turned around to face the approaching larger beings. He dropped his smile, instead putting on a stone-cold expression. _"I said, Thuuk, that by my calculations this should be the location where there is the least interference between our worlds, therefor allowing The Master to navigate between his prison and this dimension with the least amount of effort."_

When Thuuk only responded with a blank look, the one-eyed creature stepped in. _"Or to put it simply, The Master is more likely to be appearing in this cavern than anywhere else in the world,"_ it said with a snarky chuckle.

" _I see. Pvaark, do you know when we should be expecting The Master to be appearing?"_

When the smaller creature shook its head, Thuuk sighed. _"How convenient,"_ he rumbled, before turning to his one-eyed compatriot. _"Regardless, seeing as He has not returned yet, we will be returning to the grublin base for now. However, I expect both of you, Seeyuri and Pvaark, to be joining me when I return here every day from now on. Understood?"_

When he heard no objections, he turned his back to the cavern and began wandering back without a word. Seeyuri followed behind the large grublin a moment later, leaving Pvaark alone in the cavern. The small grublin waited there for several long moments, staring absently at the glowing pink gem in his hands

 _How long will it take for The Master to return?_ he thought, before jolting back to reality in time to see the last bits of light from Thuuk's torch fade from view. No, he needed to get going otherwise it would only get him into more trouble. He hurriedly put the glowing gem into his satchel without a word before chasing after the last glimpses of torchlight.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter - it's another long-ish one but the next few should be a bit shorter and easier to read.**

 **Big thanks to Dragonmaster000 for allowing me to use his game, Thunderball in my story and for his amazing proof-reading on the chapter.**

 **All constructive criticism is greatly appreciated as I'm always trying to better myself as an author so I can make this story as good as it can be. :) Thank you for reading!**

 **Until next time!**


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